Self-supporting electrotherapy electrode



March 8,1938. 5, L Dog-(R -2,110,392

SELF SUPPdRTING ELECTROTHERAPY ELECTRODE Filed Jan. 6, 1937.

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Patented Mar. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES SELF-SUPPORTING ELECTROTHERAPY ELECTRODE Edwin L. Dorr, Clayton, Mo., assignor to Edgar J. Rose, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application January 6, 1937, Serial No. 119,224

3 Claims.

This invention pertains to electrode devices for application of diathermy or other electric currents to the human body, and pertains particularly to a self-supporting electrode device adapted for attachment to a body member or body portion.

Flat pad electrodes and. elongated electrodes of the form of a strap have been used for the application of therapeutic diathermy currents, either in contact with the patient or spaced therefrom, for the application of electrotherapy currents to the torso or to the body extremities such as the arms or legs. These electrodes have not proved satisfactory for such purposes, due to the difficulty encountered in retaining them in position on the patients body throughout treatment. Various forms of straps and harnesses have been devised for holding such electrodes in position on the patients body; however, such devices have not proved satisfactory, due to the time required for positioning and the inconvenience brought about by such operations.

The principal object of the invention is to provi-de a flexible, resilient electrode which may be :5 conveniently positioned about an extremity or torso of the patient and which will retain such position for extended periods without the use of straps or harnesses of any kind.

One of the particular objects of the invention is round abody member in resilient engagement therewith. A further object of the invention is to provide a resiliently deformable electrode member which is normally coiled into a generally circular form of such size as to'fit about a body member in resilient engagement therewith, and deformable so as to be readily distorted into an extended shape by manual means for removal from the body member.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrode means for therapeutic purposes having an elongated, electrically conductive spring member which is normally coiled into a substantially circular configuration and normally having overlapping ends, which is adapted to be grasped at said ends and pulled to an open position for insertion of a body member and which will upon release of said ends tend to resume its original configuration and embrace said body member.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible, resilient, insulated electrode means in which the conductive element provides the major portion of the resiliency of the device as a whole.

Other objects of the invention will either be to provide an electrode member adapted to sur-.

specifically set forth in the following descriptionor will be apparent therefrom.

The device of this invention may comprise an electrically conductive, flexible, resilient member normally conforming to a substantially cir'-' cular or cylindrical configuration and adapted to be resiliently deformed outwardly into the shape of c for the reception of a body member and operable, upon the release of the'deforming force, to return towards its normal or substantially cylindrical position and resiliently embrace said body member. Means are also provided for connecting the resilient conducting member to a source of electrical current.

I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawing and referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the device in the normal or closed position showing the enclosing insulating envelope in fulllines and a portion of the resilient electrode in dotted lines; I

Fig. 2 is a partly broken-away plan view of the device corresponding to Fig. 1, showing the bodyreceiving or outwardly extended position thereof in dot-dash lines;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view thereof taken on line 3-3 inFig.2; c

Fig. 4 is an outline of a human body with a plurality of electrodes according tothis invention disposed in position for diathermy treatment; and a r Fig. 5 is an enlarged view corresponding to the lower portion of Fig. 2, showing a broken-away plan view of a device of the present invention provided with a modified form of insulating envelope;

Referring to the drawing, the device is shown as comprising a resilient conducting member I, such as a ribbon-like spring of extended area, encased in a suitable flexible insulating envelope 2 which may be formed of softrubber or thelike, said spring being normally coiled into a substantially circular shape so as to form a substantially cylindrical structure having an appreciable length in the direction of its axis. An electrical connector 3 is shown connected to the outer end of the member I as at 4 in any suitable manner, as by soldering, brazing, riveting or the like. The connector 3 is suitably encased in an insulating envelope 5 of rubber or the like and terminates in a contact member 6 which may be used to provide electrical connection to a source of high frequency or other electrical energy, according to common practice. When the device is in rest position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in full lines, the ends thereof preferably overlap as at tact of the electrode with the body member is desired, the envelope 2 may be cut away at its inner face to form a structure equivalent to the type of contact electrode member U. S. Patent No. 1,975,518 toE; J. Rose.

The electrode of the present invention be I employed in sets of two or more, the respectiveelectrodes being connected to opposite sides of the means for supplying a diathermy, radiothermy or other treatment current, said electrodes being disposed at opposite sides of the body portion to be subjected to treatment, as above andbelow the knee joint, or, in some cases, a relatively large electrode may be placed about the trunk of a person as shown at la in Fig. 4 and connected to one side of. the source of energy through a connector 3a, and two or more smaller electrodes lb and I placed on the respective .thighs, whereby thepelvic region may be treated. In such a case, the two smaller electrodes lband I 0 would be connected together as through connectors 3b and 3c and electrically associated with the side of the sourceof energy opposite the side .to which the-electrode la is connected through a connector 3d. 1

According to the preferred embodiment of the device, the resilient electrode I is relied upon sub stantially entirely to provide the desired resilient engagementv ofv the body member, and the insulating env elope 2 is not required to be resilient to any degree. The device of the present invention eliminates the of binding devices such as straps or the like, and makes possible the facile application of the electrode to substantially any body' member, the inherent resilience of the electrode member serving to maintain the same in position.

The embodiment'illustrated in Fig. 5 comprises an electrode I provided with an insulated envelope II of rubber or the like, the inner surface l'zaof which is provided with a plurality of in wardly projecting protuberances or bosses -l3 adapted to serve the double purpose of spacing the electrode-from the body portion under treatment and more efiectively positioning the degree of overlap of the end portions of the device. The inwardly directed protuberances l3 are preferably formed of flexible'resilient material such as rubber, and may be formed integrally with the envelope l2. Inthe showing in Fig. 5, the end portions may be considered to overlap slightly more than in theinormal rest position of the provided in device, so as to accommodate the device to a rela tively small body member such as the calf (in comparison with the showing in Fig. 2 which may be considered to represent the overlap employed when the device isv encircling the lower thigh), in which case the device will tend to open upon itself to some extent and this movement will be opposed by the resilient protuberances or bosses like on the overlapping portion of the device which are in engagement with the underlapping portion of the device. The bosses H! are preferably of such length as to provide a spacing of approximately three-eighths inch between the electrode envelope and the surface of the body portion under treatment, and may be uniformly spaced over the inner surface of the envelope on three-eighths or one-half inch centers, as an example.

Other modifications of the device will occur to those skilled in the art and I do not choose to be limited to the specific embodiments herein delineated but rather to the scope of the appended claims. It will be appreciated that the expression substantially circular or substantially cylindrical is intended to include such shapes as are generally circular in configuration, i. e., oval, or the like, inasmuch as the symmetry of a true circle is not of importance to the present invention.

I claim:

1. A self-supporting electrotherapy electrode adaptedfor attachment to a portion of a human body, which comprises: an elongated flexible electrical conductor formed of a resilient metal and coiled into substantially circular configuration to form a substantially cylindrical structure in which the ends of said conductor normally overlap one another, and conductor means secured to one end of said flexible conductor to provide electrical connection to a source of treatment current, said flexible conductor being adapted to be grasped manually at said ends and pulled to an extended shape in which said ends are in' separated position and being operable upon release of said ends to resume its original configuration, whereby a body portion may be inserted between the separated ends of said flexible conductor when said flexible conductor is in said extended position and embraced by said flexible conductor upon release of said ends.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1, and comprising in addition, a flexible insulating envelope enclosing said flexible conductor.

3. The construction set forth in claim 1, and comprising in addition, a. flexible insulating envelope enclosing said flexible conductor, said envelope being provided with a plurality of inwardly projecting protuberances over the major portion of the inwardly directed surface thereof.

- EDWIN L. DORR. 

